U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday in Washington, the U.S. Energy Department said, as the Trump administration encourages big oil-producing countries to keep output high ahead of the renewed sanctions.

Perry will also meet with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Thursday in Moscow.

Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia are the world’s three biggest oil producers by far, meeting around a third of the world’s almost 100 million barrels per day (bpd) of daily crude consumption.

Combined output by these three producers has risen by 3.8 million bpd since Sept. 2014, more than the peak three million bpd Iran has managed during the last three years.

With Middle East crude markets tightening because of the U.S. sanctions against Iran, many Asian refiners are seeking alternative supplies, with South Korean imports of U.S. crude likely hitting a record in November.

At the same time, American oil producers are seeking new buyers for crude they used to sell to China before orders virtually dried up because of the trade disputes between Washington and Beijing.

Traders said this pulled wide open the discount of U.S. WTI crude versus Brent to almost $10 per barrel, the biggest since June.

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